Transcript for: Joseph's Reunion and Legacy in Egypt
Okay, let's get going. Genesis, the foundation book of the Bible. This is lesson number 48 and we will be studying
beginning in chapter 46 of Genesis if you're
following in your Bible. And of course, as always we'll
be putting the scriptures and the other information
up on the TV as we go along. In our last lesson we have witnessed the reconciliation of
Joseph and his brothers after 20 years of separation and a long and involved scheme to test their character,
test their repentance. this has taken months, year actually, this back and forth business. The Bible also describes Jacob, calls him Israel, as he departs from the land of his birth and the land of promise
to go to Egypt in order to be reunited with his long lost son and of course to avoid the destruction that the famine was
bringing onto the land. God appeared to him and renewed the promise to bless him and to bring his family back one day, because remember, we mentioned he was
hesitant to go to Egypt even though the possibility
of seeing his son was there because God had told
him to remain in Canaan. But God speaks to him and encourages him, so Jacob, or Israel, is encourage to go forward. So the entire family,
including 70 key individuals, go to Egypt, and the portion of Abraham's history in the land of Canaan down to Jacob is closed for now. This sets the scene for the
final episode in this story, the meeting of Jacob
and his long lost son, and the settling of the family in Egypt. We pick up the story in chapter
46 beginning in verse 28, so let's start reading there shall we? It says: "Now he sent Judah
before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. Joseph prepared his chariot
and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; as soon as he appeared before him, he fell on his neck and wept
on his neck a long time. Then Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since
I have seen your face, "that you are still alive." A very touching scene. Again, I repeat over and
over again human nature, you know exactly the saying. This story thousands of years ago, took place thousands of years ago and yet we can immediately relate to the emotional experience that these men were having at the time. By now Judah is the recognized
leader of the family and as the text says, he is sent ahead to advise Joseph of the arrival of the family. Jacob had been advised to
go to the land of Goshen. This is not where Joseph's
headquarters were situated. But he wasn't sure where
in that place to settle. So when they meet, it is the melting away of
22 years of sorrow and pain in the joy of seeing
each other once again. We continue reading the text. It says in verse 31: "Joseph said to his brothers
and to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, "and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, 'who were in the land of Canaan, 'have come to me; 'and the men are shepherds, 'for the have been keepers of livestock; 'and they have brought their flocks 'and their herds and all that they have.' "When Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?' you shall say, 'Your servants have been
keepers of livestock 'from our youth even until now, 'both we and our fathers,' "that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is
loathsome to the Egyptians." Now that the reunion has been achieved, the practical matters of where to live and where to be settled
are going to be resolved. The Pharaoh knew that they were coming, but the issue of where they would live was not yet confirmed with him. Joseph, he instructs them
to stress their occupation as shepherds for two reasons. One, this will emphasize
their need to live in an area that can support their lifestyle, their needs to grazing land. Goshen was near and it
was similar to Canaan. Secondly, as the text says, the Egyptians hated shepherds and actually considered them superior, considered themselves
superior to shepherds. So by noting this fact, there would be an extra
effort to isolate them so they would not intermarry or be assimilated with
the Egyptian population. The Pharaoh would want this. We know God wants this for other reasons, but also the Pharaoh would not want this group of foreigners
to mix with his own people. The fact that they want
to live in this area, more isolated area, was within his plan as well. This, as we say, would work favorably into
Joseph and God's plan to keep the family of Jacob separate from the Egyptian's race as well. Last time we talked about the advantages that this would provide the family. Now we have the scene where
Jacob and the Pharaoh are speaking one to another
making arrangements in chapter 47 beginning in verse one. It says: Then Joseph went in and
told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and brothers and their flocks "and their herds and all that they have, "have come out of the land
of Canaan; and behold, "they are in the land of Goshen." He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" So they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, "both we and our fathers." They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, "for there is no pasture
for your servants' flocks, "for the famine is severe
in the land of Canaan. "Now. Therefore, please let your servants "live in the land of Goshen." The Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your
brothers have come to you. "The land of Egypt is at your disposal; "settle your father and your brothers "in the best of the land, "let them live in the land of Goshen; "and if you know any
capable men among them, "then put them in charge of my livestock." Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years have you lived?" We went a little bit farther here, just the first six verses
I want to talk about first. At first Jacob brings his five brothers to make a formal
introduction to the Pharaoh, and even though Joseph
was a high official, he couldn't actually give
the land away to foreigners, the king still had to
approve any foreigners actually living and settling in the land. So the brothers explain their background and their need for grazing land which will suit the Pharaoh well, as we mentioned before. Goshen, of course, was an isolated place, and it allowed him to
grant Joseph's request without compromising
Egyptian social standards. So it was a, what we'd say today, it was a win-win situation
for both the Pharaoh and Joseph and Jacob and the family. Note that the brothers say that they have only come to sojourn. Sojourn means to stay for a little while. The Pharaoh knows that the famine is going to last
for only a few more years, and so the offer of hospitality will only be for a short while from his and from their perspective. They think, we're only going
to be here a little while because they say "We're here to sojourn." And he thinks he knows, because he knows the famine's going to last another five years or so, he knows kind of the time limit, the amount of time that they're
going to stay in his country. So this meeting is agreeable, and the king permits Joseph's request that they stay in the land of Goshen. Then it says: "Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years have you lived?" So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning
are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have
been the years of my life, nor have they attained the
years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning." And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from his presence. What an interesting meeting between two individuals of that time. You have the greatest ruler of the day who meets the greatest
servant of God of the day. It's interesting to note several things about what very little
conversation was preserved by Joseph about that particular meeting. Pharaoh, on one hand, was
extremely wealthy and powerful. However, he recognized
Jacob's spiritual superiority in allowing himself to be blessed, not once but twice by him. We see Pharaoh asking about Jacob's age. Such a common and polite question in a meeting of two strangers. Especially one individual meeting a very aged man before him. "How old are you?" We do that today. Again, human nature, human
interaction, so similar even that far back. Jacob goes out of the
presence of the Pharaoh, the land issue is settled. We move on here verse 11, it says: "So Joseph settled his
father and his brothers and gave them a possession
in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered. Joseph provided his
father and his brothers and all of his father's
household with food, according to their little ones." They settled in the north eastern section, away from the bulk of the population, which was in the south and in the west. They were near the Nile River
so that they could fish, another source of food. They also received their ration of food according to their number of children. So they had steady food, they had grazing land for their flocks, they had the river for fresh fish, they were isolated so that they could remain one group, not intermarry, the best of situations considering the problems that were taking place. So now, the text is going
to continue to describe the effects of the famine. In verses 13 all the way down to 21, we're not going to read that, just let me give you the information that is contained there, as I say, it continues to describe
the effects of the famine. The people eventually run out of money, not the Jews, now, I'm
talking about the Egyptians. The Egyptians run out of money, they begin trading their
livestock for food, the food that was saved up
during the seven good years. They eventually begin to trade their land. This sets up a kind of a futile system where everything belonged to the king, and the people essentially
worked for the king. This brings up kind of a dilemma that has been suggested by many
who read these passages. Some people say that this was
out of character for Joseph to enslave the people. But we need to remember that it was the people who came to him with the idea. The alternative would
have been mass starvation. What should he have done? Trade land for foods, livestock for food and so on and so forth, or let the people starve? Or, there begins an anarchy and rebellion and people storm the food centers to get food and there's a war, that's not a good thing either. Also, Joseph did not profit from this, he had no personal gain
here, only the king, and it was to the king's advantage to actually keep the people
alive any way he could. What good is being a king of a country where the people are dying of starvation? There's no power. Eventually that country would be taken over by other nations. The writer continues to tell the story, the deterioration if you wish, of that society, of the powerful effects of the famine on one of the great nations of that time. So we pick it up in verse 22, it says: "Only the land of the
priests he did not buy, meaning Joseph didn't buy, for the priests had an
allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off the allotment
which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land. Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; "now, here is seed for you, "and you may sow the land. "At the harvest you shall
give a fifth to Pharaoh, "and four-fifths shall
be your own for seed "of the field and for
your food and for those "of your households and as
food for your little ones." So they said, "You have saved our lives! "Let us find favor in
the sight of my lord, "and we will be Pharaoh's slaves." Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests
did not become Pharaoh's." So here we read some of the details concerning this arrangement
between the king and the people. Fascinating, you know, preservation of some social status and development here on account of the famine. The priests of course, were exempt by the order of Pharaoh, not Joseph, from this trading land
for food arrangement. Egyptians had a state religion that was supported by the king. And this is why the priests of that religion were exempt. The people deeded over their lands with the condition that
they were allowed to keep 80 percent of the produce for themselves. So this amounted to a 20 percent tax, which is actually not unreasonable considering the king provided the seed, he provided the food
supplies during the famine. The people were satisfied
with the arrangement and it continued this way, even into Moses' day, 400 years later. Now we begin to read
the last days of Jacob. Since the condition of the
country has been described, the scene, as I say, shifts back now to Jacob
and the events of his days. Remember I said how Genesis is written? There's a close-up and then
there's a panoramic view, a wide shot. So we've just had a wide
shot of what's taking place in Egyptian society because of the famine. Once that is explained, now there's another close-up. Back to Jacob's family. This time the writer will talk about the last days of Jacob. We read in verse 27, it says: "Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property
in it and were fruitful and became very numerous. Jacob lived in the land
of Egypt seventeen years; so the length of Jacob's life was one hundred and forty-seven years. When the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, "Please, if I have found
favor in your sight, "place now your hand under my thigh "and deal with me in
kindness and faithfulness. "Please do not bury me in Egypt, "but when I lie down with my fathers, "you shall carry me out of Egypt "and bury me in their burial place." And he said, "I will do as you have said." He said, "Swear to me." So he swore to him. Then Israel bowed in worship
at the head of the bed. Nearing his death, and wanting to settle his affairs, Jacob makes Joseph promise that they'll bury him in Canaan, not in Egypt. The hand under the thigh, we talked about that. Same gesture as Abraham's servant made in promising to find a wife for Isaac. Jacob had been promised that the land of Canaan would be his. And against all evidence to the contrary, he continued to believe this promise. And he demonstrated it
by wanting to be buried with his family back in Canaan when the time comes. Now we go to chapter 48. Jacob is going to be blessing his sons. He's in his final days, he sends for his sons for final instructions to each of them, and Joseph is the first one that he calls, even though the promise will not be carried through Joseph's family. We know that the promise, right, the promised Messiah is going to come through Judah's family, nevertheless he calls Joseph first. Let's read what happens there, it says: "Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, "Behold, your father is sick." So he took his two sons
Manasseh and Ephraim with him. When it was told to Jacob, "Behold, your Joseph has come to you." Israel collected his strength
and sat up in his bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and He said to me, 'Behold, I will make you
fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land
to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.'" So, Jacob begins by reviewing with Joseph and his two grandsons
the essence of his faith and the promise that God made to him. His whole life spent, Jacob recounts to his son what the essence of his life was. It's not very clear
what I just said, right? Jacob, let me repeat, Jacob says to his son Joseph
and to his grandsons what his whole life was about, and his whole life was
about faithfulness to God. His whole life was about hanging onto this promise that God made to him. And it was about his encounter with God and the results of that encounter so he begins by describing that. And he goes on to say in verse 5: "Now your two sons, "who were born to you in the land of Egypt "before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; "Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, "as Reuben and Simeon are. "But your offspring that have been born "after them shall be yours; "they shall be called by the names "of their brothers in their inheritance." Verse seven says: "Now as for me, "when I came from Paddan, "Rachel died, "to my sorrow, "in the land of Canaan on the journey, "when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there
on the way to Ephrath "(that is, Bethlehem)." Jacob transfers the first
born privileges from Reuben, because Reuben was the eldest right? He now transfers the first born privileges from Reuben to Joseph, and he does this for several reasons. First of all, Reuben was born first chronologically, but Jacob had intended to marry Rachel and he was tricked into
marrying Leah if you remember. Had he been allowed to marry Rachel then Joseph would have indeed
been his firstborn son. So there's some of the thinking behind the transfer of the firstborn privileges and blessings. Secondly, Reuben had sinned against his father by sleeping with his father's concubine. Remember that? It was only mentioned at the time. There was no mention of
consequences of that, it was simply mentioned
that this took place. But here, the consequences are coming
to fruition for that act. Reuben had sinned against his father by being with his father's concubine and also having a weak character. On the other hand, Joseph displayed spiritual depth and strong leadership
necessary for a family leader. Perhaps a third reason
that there was a switch is that God had foretold
this event in Joseph's dreams and Jacob was simply complying
with the instruction of God seen in the dreams of
Joseph that the family, they would bow before him. The idea that he would
assume a leadership position. The firstborn also had a double portion of the inheritance. Jacob does this by giving
each of Joseph's sons equal ranking among the brothers. Just like Judah and Simeon, Joseph's sons would each have
an equal portion like them. It would mean that when they
returned to the land of Canaan these two would each receive
an equal portion of land. There's the double portion, if you wish, that was supposed to go to the firstborn and that double portion translated into and equal portion for
each one of his sons. Jacob says that any other children of his would be assigned to the
clans of their brethren. Although the Bible says that Joseph did not have any other children so we only know of these two. Let's keep reading in
verse eight, it says: "When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?" Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom
God has given me here." So he says, "bring them to me, please,
"that I may bless them." Now the eyes of Israel
were so dim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and he embraced them. Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face, "and behold, "God has let me see
your children as well." Then Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground." Joseph's sons were young men by this time and they're made to
approach their grandfather for a blessing. And Joseph, even though a powerful ruler, gives a tremendous example
of love and respect towards his father by
bowing down before him in front of his sons. So his dream about his father and mother bowing down to him is realized, perhaps in the idea that they
had come to him for help. It wasn't Joseph that went
to his father for help, it was his father. And through his father,
his mother as well. Coming to him for help, so that's the realization
of that particular dream. Let's keep reading this section, what happens with the two brothers here. It says: "Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right
hand toward Israels' left, and Manasseh with his left
hand toward Israel's right, and he brought them close to him. But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn. He blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked, "The God who has been my
shepherd all my life to this day, "The angel who has
redeemed me from all evil, "Bless the lads; "and may my name live on in them, "and the names of my
fathers Abraham and Isaac; "and may they grow into a multitude "in the midst of the earth." Jacob is almost blind, so Joseph, as we see here, brings his sons closer in
order to receive the blessing. Manasseh, since he is older, this is my right hand here, towards his father's right hand, and Ephraim, the younger, towards his father's left hand. But what does Jacob do? Notice in the passage
Jacob switches hands. He switches hands here so that he can put his
right hand on the younger and his left hand on the older one. When we get the blessing, when he begins the blessing, at first it's kind of a general blessing on Joseph recalling God's blessings on himself throughout his own life. And it's the first time in this section, first time in the Bible, that God is referred to as
a shepherd or a redeemer, first time that idea is
mentioned in the Bible. Jacob prays that they grow and they be blessed in the
way of their ancestors. Let's continue with the blessing, verse 17 it says: "When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's
head to Manasseh's head. Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for
this one is the firstborn. "Place your right hand on his head." And it says: "But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; "he also will become a people
and he also will be great. "However, his younger brother
shall be greater than he, "and his descendants shall
become a multitude of nations." He blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will
pronounce blessing, saying, 'May God make you like
Ephraim and Manasseh!'" Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh." This is where the important part of this, the specific part of this blessing concerning these two young men take place. Jacob pronounces a blessing on the younger son over the older one, And Joseph responds to this. He thinks the old man is confused, but Jacob assures him
that he knows exactly what he's doing and that indeed the younger will have the
preeminence in the future. So in verse 21 it says: "Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, "but God will be with you, "and bring you back to
the land of your fathers. "I give you one portion
more than your brothers, "which I took from the hand of "the Amorite with my sword and my bow." An interesting little post script here, as Jacob give to Joseph a
special gift in his will. It's all right now that he's given the grandsons and equal portion along
with his other sons to fulfill the advantage
of the firstborn to Joseph. But he also gives Joseph an extra gift. There's no reference to it anywhere in any other place in the Bible but it seems that Jacob had
taken a large piece of land through battle with the Amorites. He tells Joseph that he
can have a double portion of this piece of land which
is situated in Canaan. A promise for the future. In the next section that
we're going to study, we're going to see Jacob continue pronouncing blessings
on all of the other sons as the story of Israel
and Jacob comes to an end. For now let's, as we do
in most of these lessons, let's see if we can draw some lessons, some life lessons, that we can apply to ourselves based on the stories that we just read concerning Jacob and
Joseph and his grandsons. First lesson is pretty obvious. God's ways are not our ways. God's way is not our way. They came to Egypt thinking they were going to spend a few years, they were going to ride out
the famine and just go home, and what happens? They stay 400 years. Think about it. 400 years. We're thinking about American history how long is stretches
all the way back there but it's only a couple of hundred years. They stayed there 400 years. Their way, that we'll be here
we'll ride out the famine then we'll go home, their way, it seemed logical and convenient, even a way to guarantee God's plan. We're going to be here, we're going to be safe, protect the family, go back to Canaan, get the land promised. But that's not the way it worked out. That wasn't God's way. Our way is not God's way because we don't see the big picture. We don't know how things are going to fall in the next four centuries because sometimes, there are things that are happening now, that will only be fulfilled, that would only come to
fruition after we die. That's why our life is a
walk of faith, isn't it? Our way is not His way because our choices are based primarily on self interest
and limited intelligence. But His ways are based on perfect
love and perfect knowledge we need to trust God even
when it doesn't make sense because His way is not our way. Another lesson that can be drawn is God can prosper you regardless
of the circumstances. Joseph was in prison, but what happened? God raised him to a high position. Jacob was losing his family and possibly his life, and through this, God reunited him with his long lost son and allowed him even to see his grandsons. God's ability to bless us is not limited by our weaknesses, it's not even limited by our sins. Not limited by difficult circumstances, not limited by the sins
of evil men against us. God blesses because God is good. And God blesses because
He is able to bless. What am I saying with this? I'm saying if this is so, then let's not give up
on prayer for a blessing just because the
circumstances are against it. Faith believes and prays
for a "Yes." From God even when all the circumstances
seem to be saying no. Why? Because God can prosper
us and God can bless us regardless of the
circumstances that we are in. One other lesson. God chooses for spiritual reasons. God chooses for spiritual reasons. Notice how many older sons were passed over by God
in favor of younger ones. Isaac was chosen over Ishmael. Jacob was chosen over Esau. Joseph was chosen over Reuben. Ephraim was chosen over Manasseh. Later on David was chosen, you know David, the king of Israel, he was chosen over all of his brothers. He was the youngest. God did not choose them for great service because they were young, he did so because they were
more spiritually mature than their older brothers. God looks at your heart to
judge your value for leadership and for responsibility
and for stewardship, all the things that
lead to great blessings. Let's remember that in the Kingdom of God, becoming as a child, in purity in trust and flexibility, being as a child in simple joy and willingness to help, this is what is necessary
for God to appoint you as a leader, as a chief,
as a head of his people. It was so then, it was so when Jesus was here on earth and it continues to be so today. That's lesson 48 in our series. Two more to go. I really appreciate everybody hanging in for this very very long series. We'll see you next time.